PlayStation Studios’ MLB The Show 21 launches on Xbox Game Pass day one, Microsoft has announced.
MLB The Show 21 is the first PlayStation Studios game to launch on Xbox Game Pass. The deal also means PlayStation owners have to pay £60 for the Sony-developed MLB The Show 21, while Xbox owners can get it as part of their Game Pass subscription when it comes out on 20th April.
If you have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you can get MLB The Show 21 on your Android phone via the cloud.
MLB The Show 21 already hit the headlines for being the first PlayStation Studios game to launch on Xbox.
Microsoft said both MLB The Show 21 Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S Standard Editions will be included with Xbox Game Pass, so subscribers can play the best version regardless of which console they’re on. MLB The Show 21 has cross-play and cross-progress, too so Xbox Game Pass subscribers can play PlayStation owners online.
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MLB The Show is the long-standing PlayStation-exclusive franchise developed by Sony’s San Diego Studio.
In December 2019, Sony and MLB announced a “multi-platform video game partnership” to bring the franchise to “additional console platforms beyond PlayStation as early as 2021”.
The Microsoft Store page for MLB The Show lists MLB as the publisher, and San Diego Studio (Sony Interactive Entertainment America) as the developer. It looks like Microsoft has done a deal here with MLB, rather than Sony itself.
Still, the PlayStation Studios logo and Sony’s San Diego Studio are front and centre on the MLB The Show box art, and appear in Xbox promo videos pushing the game. It’s a significant signing for Xbox Game Pass – not only is MLB The Show coming to Xbox Game Pass day one, but it’s an entry in a series that was for years a PlayStation-exclusive franchise.
Microsoft has made a number of eye-catching Xbox Game Pass deals in recent months, including snapping up Outriders for launch.
Sony has so far not announced MLB The Show 21 for its rival subscription service, PlayStation Now.
